Wedding bells at Harbor Plaza

The wedding of Jo and David Murray, November 19, 1983.

The Port of Long Beach Administration Building has been the backdrop for a variety of unique events, from international trade festivals to beauty contests and more. One of the most memorable was the wedding of David and Jo Murray back in 1983. Jo Murray sent us some photos and her memories of this unique occasion:

"My husband, David, and I were married in front of 925 Harbor Plaza Drive on November 19, 1983.

"We tied the knot at the Port (in the same spot where the international beauties brought water to the reflection pool [at the dedication of the building in 1959 - Ed.])  and held our reception in the grassy area by the huge anchor - complete with a mariachi band that could play "Hava Nagila"!

"Afterwards, we made our escape via a yacht that was docked by the Reef Restaurant.

"Today we have been married 27 years and live in Long Beach, volunteering for sailing regattas, like Congressional Cup, sponsored by the Port of Long Beach."

The Murrays' honeymoon getaway yacht,
docked near The Reef restaurant.

We asked Jo why she and her husband picked the Port for their wedding:

"We love the ocean, cruise ships, and sailing. I worked my way through college as a tour guide at the Queen Mary - and I loved the rooftop view at the Port Building - so that was my wish - but the Port felt it was too risky to have a wedding on the roof - so they offered the front area. It turned out wonderful- with the band playing by the huge anchor and all.

"While I was a guide, I started collecting house flags from various shipping companies. Many times the captains and officers from cargo ships that were in the Port would visit the Queen Mary tour and invite tour guides to visit their ships and join them for a meal aboard. As a memento of our tour and dinner on these cargo ships, often the captain would present us with a house flag.  I grew to feel a special bond with the Port and the ships that visited.

"Being married there was special - we didn't want to leave the ceremony in a limo - we wanted to leave by sailing into the sunset - and a Port wedding made that possible. The Port is more to us than commerce for our community - it has a special romantic, adventuresome place in our hearts."

To see more photos from the Murrays' wedding, click here.

Setting the pace at the Grand Prix

The Port's pace car at the 2010 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The 2011 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is this weekend and the Port of Long Beach is once again helping sponsor the event. The Port provides part of the race's visual backdrop as cars hurtle along Shoreline Drive at high speed, which they've been doing since 1975.

An old Port of Long Beach sponsor logo can be seen
in this shot from a 1980s Grand Prix.

One highly visible aspect of the Port's involvement with the race started in 2008, when the Port became an Official Pace Car Sponsor. That year, our hybrid Toyota Prius helped set the pace in five races. The Port has also participated in the Grand Prix's popular Lifestyle Expo, which highlights electric, bio-diesel and hydrogen cars, along with other aspects of green technology.

When it's not race time, the Port's green (in both senses) pace car can be seen around town at many community events, showcasing the Port's Green Port Policy and our commitment to environmental initiatives.

The Belmont Shore Christmas Parade is just one event where you'll
find the Port of Long Beach's iconic green pace car.

Pierpoint Landing's animal attraction

Contestants in the International Beauty Congress stop by the sea lion pool at Pierpoint Landing, 1960.

We came across some more photos of Pierpoint Landing in our archives last week, and coincidentally a reader wrote in, almost at the same time we were uploading the photos, to share her memories of the sportfishing mecca's famous animal attraction:

"I am a 52-year-old mother who has the fondest memories of Pierpoint Landing, especially the seal tank. My father would take our whole family for crab and smoked fish, while I could not wait to get there to feed MY seals!

"My father would give me change so I could buy a bag of anchovies to feed MY seals. This would go on all day until it started getting dark. To this day when I see a seal it reminds me of one of the best times of my life.

"Now that I am a parent to a 25-year-old and at 26-year-old I share this story with them. They now go to [the new] Pierpoint Landing often for the sport fishing!

"Thank you for having this forum to express my happy memories. I thought I was the only person that knew about the seals...OH YEH "MY SEALS".....THANK YOU!"

-- Elizabeth Gomez


More pics of Pierpoint Landing

Our original post on Pierpoint Landing

Pierpoint Landing circa 1964.

Fond memories of The Reef's early days

View from The Reef's patio, 1964, includes the Cyclone Racer and Municipal Auditorium.
Those drinks don't look bad either.

A reader sent in these reminiscences about the Reef Restaurant, which opened on what was then Pier A in August 1958. The Polynesian-themed restaurant was the brainchild of LA-area restaurateur David Tallichet and George Millay, who went on to create Sea World. The restaurant burned in the mid-'70s but was then rebuilt and is still in operation today.

Here's what one of our readers had to say about his time working at The Reef:

"My first job in California was at the wonderful 'Reef Restaurant' -- one of the first destination restaurants in those days. The place was so busy that on Friday and Saturday nights there was always a two-hour wait to get in. The decor was island and we looked more like an island than if you were there.

"I worked there as a waiter, head waiter and asst. manager. The manager in those days was Ralph Fulton and I will say he was the best. He knew everybody in town and then some.

"People drove a hundred miles to have dinner and see the view of Long Beach all the way down the coast to Newport. I moved on but will never forget my time in the Port of Long Beach."
-- Philip Compton

Photos of the original Reef are practically non-existent in the Port's archives and online as well; you can see some more pictures in our photo gallery, but we'd love to see and share some more images, particularly of the building's interior -- please pass them along if you have any.

You can find some more information and menus from the Reef's early days at the Tiki Central site.

Or find out more about the Reef Restaurant today.

Video of Elvis at the Port

The kind folks at the USS Potomac museum in Oakland sent us a link today to the website of an Elvis fan named Keith Flynn -- Keith has a piece of video of Elvis and Danny Thomas at the Port of Long Beach in 1964 for the handover ceremony for the presidential yacht. The pair discuss the Beatles a bit, too.

Maybe someone eagle-eyed will recognize where the Potomac is docked in this clip...

Watch the video

Keith Flynn's Elvis site

See our original post on Elvis at the Port

Nearly a century of service

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners meets sometime between June and December 1955. From left: Joseph F. Bishop, H.E. "Bud" Ridings, Jr., John P. Davis, Maurice W. Daubney and W.R. "Frosty" Martin.

Although the Port's history goes back 100 years, the Board of Harbor Commissioners is slightly younger. The story of the Harbor Commission began in 1916, when the Los Angeles Dock and Terminal Co. declared bankruptcy and turned over a massive harbor dredging project to the City of Long Beach. Soon thereafter it became clear that the Port needed a governing body; in December 1916, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce obtained a ruling from the city attorney that the city's charter permitted the creation of a Harbor Commission.

On June 29, 1917, the first board was formed, with members W.T. Lisenby, mayor and commissioner of public property; James R. Williams, commissioner of public safety; and C.J. Hargis, commissioner of public works. This three-member commission lasted for eight years, until it was decided that the Port needed to be an independent city department governed by an independent board.

Since 1925, four women have served on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, all since 1979. From left are Louise M. DuVall, Carmen O. Perez, Susan E. Anderson Wise and Doris Topsy-Elvord.

Thus, on May 18, 1925, the five-member Harbor Commission as we know it today was formed. The members, named by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council, have ranged from experts in the maritime industry to academics, business leaders and politicians. Since 1925, 62 people have served. The Board has evolved over the years; four women have served since 1979 and the Commission's racial makeup has become more diverse, reflecting the changing face of Long Beach.

Click here to see photos and biographies of Harbor Commission members, 1925-present.

Click here for historic photos of the Commission.

Elvis at the Port, 1964

The Potomac, looking somewhat the worse for wear, at the Port of Long Beach in January 1964. Port of Long Beach photo.

Famous vessels and famous faces are no strangers to the Port of Long Beach. The Port has welcomed the USS Constitution and the Queen Mary, for instance, and notables including Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Arnold Schwarzenegger, just to name a few. But only one chapter in the Port's 100-year history involved both a president and a king, or rather The King.

For a short time in the early 1960s, the Port of Long Beach was home to the Potomac, a 165-foot-long vessel that from 1936 to 1945 was the presidential yacht of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. For part of the Potomac's brief stay in Long Beach, the yacht was owned by someone arguably even more famous than FDR: Elvis Presley.

After FDR's death in 1945, the Potomac passed through a number of hands and ended up in early 1964 -- in a somewhat dilapidated condition -- here in Long Beach.

Danny Thomas and Elvis Presley aboard the Potomac for handover ceremonies at the Port of Long Beach, February 3, 1964. This was the only time Elvis set foot on the yacht. Photo courtesy of the USS Potomac Museum, http://www.usspotomac.org.

Elvis Presley bought the Potomac in January 1964 for $55,000, intending to present the vessel to the March of Dimes, the charity founded by FDR in the 1930s to fight polio. The March of Dimes ended up refusing the gift because of the upkeep involved.

Elvis then offered the yacht to the Miami Seventh Coast Guard Auxiliary, who accepted; presentation ceremonies were planned in Long Beach. But then the Navy got wind of the Auxiliary's plans for the Potomac, which were to sell it for scrap and purchase a new clubhouse, and blocked the donation.

With two avenues closed, attention turned to a favorite charity of Elvis': St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. February 3, 1964 was set for a ceremony to hand the vessel over to another famous name, Danny Thomas, founder of the hospital.

From Walter Jaffe's book "The Presidential Yacht Potomac":

After months of neglect the Potomac was in poor condition and had to be cleaned up for the ceremony. A few days before the event [Elvis' manager] Colonel Parker contacted [the Port] asking how much it would cost to have the boat cleaned up and painted for the dedication. He was told it would take at least three days and $18,000 to make the Potomac presentable. There wasn't that much time. The Colonel then asked, "How much if you just paint the side that faces the dock?" He was told that for $8,000 they could do what he wanted and rope off the unpainted parts. The Colonel said, "Do it."

The handover ceremony was held in Long Beach as planned on February 3, with Elvis (the only time he set foot on the boat), Thomas, members of Elvis' "Memphis Mafia," the media and fans in attendance. St. Jude's originally planned to take the yacht to Memphis and turn it into a floating restaurant, but the logistical and financial impracticalities of that led the hospital to sell the yacht, which left Long Beach and continued on its unusual journey.

The vessel passed through a succession of owners -- at one time it was seized as a front for drug smugglers -- before being abandoned in the East Bay Estuary near Oakland.

Shortly before the one-time "Floating White House" was due to be sold for scrap, it was purchased by the Port of Oakland and turned into a museum; today you can tour the vessel and even go on cruises aboard what's now a National Historic Landmark.

We'd like to extend a special thanks to the Potomac Museum in Oakland for providing much of the material for this article. For more information about the museum and the historic vessel, visit their website at http://www.usspotomac.org/.